Zardnaar
Legend
So one year on i thinking how 5.5 coukd be improved. But not requiring a full rewrite atlas my 6E thread. Where did 5.5 hit the mark and where did it whiff. Im going with the assumption that one likes 5 5. Drastic changes are the 6E thread.
Overall I think the class balance is fairly good at most levels. In a way we will get updates of missing 5.0 archetypes. Still could be better.
Things They Should Have Done Better.
1. Monster design. The classes are better 8/12 I would play 1-20. (5.0 was 4/12). The power creep did not extend to monsters at least updating them. Generally tgey just need better defenses. Theres various ways to do this the relevant abilities are scattered across various 5.0 and 5.5 books. Hit points are bloated tier 1 probably not enough on higher tier beings. 5.5 exclusive critters hit like a truck.
2. Rangers and Rogues. Both need an overhaul. Hunters mark concentration and bonus action to move it is an issue. Rogues still weak a d no subclass abilities after 3 all the way to lvl 9.
3. Maybe tweak power levels at certain tiers. Barbarian is front loaded falls off later. Similar deal with wizard but in reverse. With Rogues and Rangers they fail the 1-20 "test".
4. Some higher level abilities need to go bye bye or be revised. Mostly spells eg simulacrum, shapechange, true polymorphism, prismatic wall, conjure Celestial. Some new stuff in FotA and Heroes of Faerun eg Potent Dragonmark and a few epic boons.
Overall I think the class balance is fairly good at most levels. In a way we will get updates of missing 5.0 archetypes. Still could be better.
Things They Should Have Done Better.
1. Monster design. The classes are better 8/12 I would play 1-20. (5.0 was 4/12). The power creep did not extend to monsters at least updating them. Generally tgey just need better defenses. Theres various ways to do this the relevant abilities are scattered across various 5.0 and 5.5 books. Hit points are bloated tier 1 probably not enough on higher tier beings. 5.5 exclusive critters hit like a truck.
2. Rangers and Rogues. Both need an overhaul. Hunters mark concentration and bonus action to move it is an issue. Rogues still weak a d no subclass abilities after 3 all the way to lvl 9.
3. Maybe tweak power levels at certain tiers. Barbarian is front loaded falls off later. Similar deal with wizard but in reverse. With Rogues and Rangers they fail the 1-20 "test".
4. Some higher level abilities need to go bye bye or be revised. Mostly spells eg simulacrum, shapechange, true polymorphism, prismatic wall, conjure Celestial. Some new stuff in FotA and Heroes of Faerun eg Potent Dragonmark and a few epic boons.

